They say if you know an umpire's name, it's bad news for that ump. For the moment, there is no one that is more true for than Ángel Hernández, who was behind the plate for Sunday Night Baseball's showdown between the Phillies and the Brewers in Philadelphia.
In the bottom of the ninth inning, Hernández rung up outfielder Kyle Schwarber on a strike three call that appeared to be off the plate in a full count. Schwarber, fed up with a Hernández strike zone that appeared to be more of an amoeba than a box all night, slammed his bat onto the ground and got into Hernández's face, gesturing demonstrably that Hernández had been all over the place.
It's difficult to overstate how consistently bad these calls were. ESPN's announcers had no grievance with Schwarber's tantrum, saying Schwarber was "speaking for both sides" on the broadcast. As early as the fifth inning, ESPN's announcers were asking Bryce Harper in an on-field interview if strike zones as wide as Hernández's was on Sunday forces you to change your approach. His inconsistency was noticed and noted early on.
Schwarber's meltdown wasn't the result of one missed call, even if it was a critical one in a high-leverage situation (Schwarber represented the tying run in the bottom of the ninth in a 1-0 game).
Rather, as Schwarber indicates with his hands, Hernández had been woefully inconsistent no matter who was at the plate. Schwarber had every intention of getting run out after that called strike three, and he made sure he got his money's worth.
Being an umpire is undeniably difficult-- trying to call pitches that cross the plate in the blink of an eye while also battling a catcher who is actively trying to fool you. That isn't, however, an excuse for having no sense of the plate for the duration of a game. After all, Hernández has umpired games in the MLB since 1991. He's had practice.
In 2017, Hernández sued the MLB, citing a personal feud with then MLB Vice President Joe Torre. Hernández claimed Torre, the former World Series manager of the New York Yankees, was keeping him out of assignments because of his race. He lost that lawsuit in 2021 after the MLB successfully argued Hernández "has not demonstrated the leadership ability and situation-management skills in critical high-pressure roles on a consistent basis," per ESPN.
Could this happening on a national broadcast when no other games were going on be what causes MLB to step in and have repercussions for horribly-called games by umpires? Don't count on it. But perhaps it will cause MLB to think long and hard about who it wants behind in the plate, particularly in games that will have a lot of eyes on them.
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